Conclusions and Policy Implications for Cash Transfer Programmes
From Evidence to Action: The Story of Cash Transfers and Impact Evaluation in Sub Saharan Africa, 2016
Posted: 9 Jan 2019
Date Written: 2016
Abstract
Given the importance of cash transfer programmes in social protection strategies in sub-Saharan Africa, understanding programme impacts and processes that facilitate improvements in programme implementation is critical. Based on rigorous mixed method impact evaluations, evidence presented in this book from Kenya, Ghana, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Malawi, and South Africa that form part of the Transfer Project and From Protection to Production project clearly counteracts concerns around cash transfers creating dependency. Unconditional cash transfers lead to a broad range of significant social and productive impacts, even though they are not tied to any specific behaviour. Lessons on the political economy of evaluations suggest that impact evaluations must be embedded in policy processes to be effective in influencing decision-making. Impact evaluations help build the credibility of the social protection sector, strengthen the case for social protection as an investment, address public concerns around transfers, and support learning around programme design.
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